Lillard continued, "If he says that, he must be bragging. I'm not someone who likes to brag."
"Anyway, no one in this league wants to face Wang Yi. But unfortunately, we've run into him, so all we can do is try our best to follow the coach's instructions and make as few mistakes as possible."
"That's all."
The reporter turned and asked Popovich, "Pop, your players don't seem confident about facing Wang Yi. As their coach, are you confident?"
It was an exceptionally tricky question.
There was no right answer.
But Popovich's response was so brilliant that it drew admiration.
"Come on, that's Wang."
The reporters at the scene burst out laughing. Even Wemby and Lillard, standing nearby, couldn't help laughing.
At the last post-game interview, Popovich had answered three questions with that one line. Today, all three of them had used it.
They'd all learned Popovich's bad habits.
Popovich continued, "Without a doubt, the Spurs are currently facing the greatest and strongest player in history. We're honored."
"But at the same time, that makes this game incredibly difficult for us."
"We'll do everything we can, but what do you want me to promise you? Sorry, I can't do that."
The reporter was left speechless.
The three of them had given almost identical answers. Clearly, they'd agreed on what to say beforehand.
In fact, Popovich had told the players that morning to keep their answers consistent at the press conference.
They were also to praise Wang Yi as much as possible.
They absolutely couldn't say anything bad about Wang Yi, or threaten him.
After all, statistics from previous seasons showed that anyone who talked tough about Wang Yi before a game ended up getting badly beaten by him.
Teams that praised Wang Yi beforehand didn't lose by as much on